Digester for extracting spirits of turpentine.



No. 827,554- PATENTED JULY 31, 1906. P. D. MGMILLAN.

DIGESTER FOR EXTRAGTING SPIRITS OF TURPENTINB.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 24, 1906.

2 SHEETSSHEET 1.

INVENTOF? FER DWAND DM QLLAN B y y W/TNESSES A .TTOHNE Y8 PATENTED JULY31 P. D. MOMILLAN- DIGESTER FOR EXTRAGTING SPIRITS 0P TURP-ENTIN'E.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 24, 1906.

. 2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

/NVENTOH FERDINANDD. MCMILLAN.

WITNESSES ATTOHNE Y8 UNITED STATES PATENT orrion.

FERDINAND D. 'MOMILLAN, OF ATLANTA, GEORGIA.

DIGESTER FOR EXTRACTING SPIRITS OF TURPENTINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 31, 1906.

Application filed Mmh 24. 1906. Serial/N0. 3071826.

Spirits of Turpentine,- of which the following is a specification.

My invention is in the nature of a digester forYthe purpose ofextracting spirits. of turpentine or other volatile products from woodin the form of blocks, chips, sawdust, or granulations.

It relates to the form of digester which employs a vertical or u rightcylinder. In this form of digester di 'culty has been found indischarging the woody residuum, owing to the-fact that under theinfluence of heat the 1 woody material becomes compacted andconglomerated or glued together and-so tightly held by swelling as to bediflicult of discharge, requiring several hours to discharge a singlecharge of residuum.

My invention is designed to devise a sim le and practical means forpromoting the ischarge of this conglomerate mass remaining as residuumand to do so rapidly and in a convenient manner.

The invention consists in the novel construction and arrangement ofparts of a sectional retort for holding the wood and relieving itsadhesion thereto, so that it may be fed down by gravity and be blown outby a blast of air or steam.

Figure 1 is a vertical section of the upright digester. Fig. 2 is apartial horizontal section thereof on about line 2 2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3is a detail sectional view of the means for adjusting the sections ofthe retort, taken on line 3 3 of Fig. 2.- Fig. 4 is a horizontal sectiontaken on line 4 4 of Fig. 1, showing the perforated bottom. Fig. 5 is ahorizontal section taken on line 5 5 ofFig. 1. Fig. 6 is a detail of theencompassin girdle or constricting-band. for the sectional retort, andFigs. 7 and 8 are enlarged details of the means for ap lying or relaxingthe tension of-said band.

eferring to Fig. 1, J is an upright cylinder having near its bottom alarge outlet B,

provided with a gate-valve through which Eis' denser. F is asafety-valve. Q is an inletpipe for the steam. R is adischarge-pipe orthetar and heavier oils. A and A are blowout-pipes located in thehorizontal plane of the outlet B for the purpose of introducing theblast of air or steam to, discharge the woody residuum from thecylinder. --C- and v C are inlet-blowpipes through which steam or air isintroduced to loosen and discharge material remaining between thecylinder and the retort.

In central position in the upright cylinder is suspended a verticalsectional retort open at top and bottom and consistin of a series oflongitudinal sections of a cy 'nder, each section having horizontalcurved. ribs 1, connected by' vertical bars 2, of which sections thereare four, more or less, (see Figs. 2 and 5,) which forma com letesectional retort of cylindrical form, ea section of the retort beingconstructed independently and capable of independent adjustment to andfrom the center. These sections are inde endently. suspended by means ofturnbuc es G, having right and left screw-threads and su ported on hooksd, attached to the top of t e cylinder. The bottom of the retort asformed of these sections is suspended within fourteen inches of a falsebottom M, mounted upon a support S on the bottom of the cylinder. Thisfalse bottom is perforated throughout the central portion, as shown inFig. 4, and occupies a plane just below the level ofv thedischarging-pipe B and blowoutepipes A and A Each section of the retortis rendered independently adjustable to or fromthe center by. means of\three (more or less) screws L, which are tap ed through brackets Z,fastened to plates b0 ted to the cylinder. Each screw passes through astuffing-box L and is provided inside ofthe cylinder with aheadswiveling within a yoke-frame L connected to the ribs 1 of the sectionsof the retort, so that by turnin the screws L in one direction or theother t e several sections of the retort are adjusted to orfrom thecenter.

When adjusted to their inner position, the several sections of theretort form a complete circle, as shown in Figs. 2 and 5, but eachsection may be independently withdrawn by means of screws L to enlargethe circle of the retort.

The sectional retort constitutes'the tacle which holds the mass ofcomminut'ed Wood. The steam admitted through the:

pipe serves to distil the/vn l'atile vag fiioo - the woods containedwithin the retort, which volatile vapors pass up through the pipe E intoany condenser. The mass of more or less conglomerated wood ren'lainingin the retort is allowed to feed down by gravity by retraeting theadjusting-screws L so that the sei'eral sections of theretort willrecede from the charge of conglomerated wood and will thus loosen itsadhesion to the retort, so that it passes down to the level of the falsebottom M and is easily blown out in a comminuted form through theoutlet-discharge B by means of a steam or air blast introduced throughpipes A A. Any portion of the woody residuum remaining in the annularspace between the retort and the outer cylinor J is loosened anddischarged by means of a blast of steam or air introduced through pipesC and C. The large charging-inletl) and the large (.lischargeoutlet Bare provided with suitable tight covers or gate-valves, and the severalsteam and distillate pipes are suitably provided with valves.

hen the retort is first charged with wood and its sections have beenadjusted to their inner position by means of screws L, these sections ofthe retort are firmly held to position by one or more encompassing bandsor girdles P, (shown in Fig. 6,) which band is extended around theretort, as shown in Fig. 5, and the ends of this band or girdle aretightened or relaxed, as may be required, by means of adjusting devices.(Shown in Figs. 7 and S.) Theseconsist of a disk or plate 0, to whichthe ends of the constricting-girdle P are attached. On the opposite sideof the disk is fastened a short shaft, which passes through astufiing-box in the cylinder and is rigidly connected with a crank-armN. The crank-arnrN is provided with a detent 17,, adapted to engage theratchet-teeth on the external plate N, bolted to the exterior of thecylinder. By rotating the crank-arm N it will be seen that the disk 0 isturned and the ends of the girdle are tightened about the sections ofthe retort and are held in this position by means of a detent a, engaing the ratchet-teeth on the plate l When the sections of the retort areto be expanded by means of the screws L, the detent n of the arm N isreleased from the ratchet-teeth N, and the disk 0 is turned to relax theencompassing girdle P.

The operation 'ofmy digester is as follows: The sections of thesuspended retort are first adjusted to their inner position by means ofscrews L and are retained in this position by tightening theencompassing girdle. The discharge-gate at B isclosed and the wood ischarged into the retort through the inlet D in the form of blocks ofsuitable size or chips, sawdust, or granulations or any combination ofthese as may be desired. The charging-inlet D is then closed, as is alsothe vaporescape pipe E and the blowout-valves in pipes A, A, and R.Steam at about fifty pounds pressure is then turned on through .the pipeQ, and when a sufficient pressure has been attained the valve in thevaporpipe E is opened, which allows the vapors from the wood to pass tothe condenser until a sullicient amount thereof has been extracted. Thedigester is then discharged as follows: The steam is cut off at the pipeQand the volatile vapors at pipe E, the flexible girdle or band P isrelaxed, and the sections of the retort are then drawn back by means ofthe screws L, which loosens the charge within the. retort and whichallows the charge to automatically feed down and rest upon theperforated bottom H. Steam or air through the pipes C C" is thenadmitted into the space in the digester between the retort and the outershell to loosen any material which has accumulated there, and as soon asthis has been accomplished the valves in the pipes C and O are closed.Then the dischargegate in the outlet B is opened and steam or air isadmitted from the pipes A A onto the charge of residuum resting on thefalse bottom M, which charge of woody residuum is blown out in a more orless cornminuted conditionthrough the pipe B. The turnbuckles G withright and left screws permit a slight vertical adjustment of thesections of the retort to cause the weight of the retort and its chargeto be borne upon the turnbuckles, and thus relieve the adjustingscrews Lfrom such weight, so that the screws may be conveniently operatedwithout excessive friction and without lateral wear and leakage at thestufling-boxes.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is

1. A digester of upright form having arranged within it a sectionalretort with means for enlarging its cross-section.

2. A digester of upright form having a horizontal-bottom near its lowerend, inlet and outlet blowpipes arranged above the level of the saidbottom, and a verticallysuspended and laterally-expansible retort withopen top and bottom arranged above said bottom.

3. An uprightdigester having a sectional retort within the same,combined with adjusting-screWs extending through stuflingboxes in theside of the digester and attached to the adjustable sections of theretort to increase or diminish the cross-section of the same.

4. In a digester of the kind described, the combination with a sectionalretort; of means for adjusting said sections, and an encompassing bandor girdle for said sectional retort and tightening and loosening devicesfor adjusting said band.

5. In a digester of the kind described, the combination'of outlet andinlet pipes, an insetter.

ner retort made in sections, an encompassing band or girdle, and atightening device for the same consisting of a disk or plate attached tothe ends of the girdle, a shaft at taehed to said disk and extendingthrou h the Wall of the digester and carrying a cra arm and detent, anda stationary toothed plate secured to the exterior walls of thedigester.

6. The combination withsa digester having a blowoutipe near its bottom,and a horizontal pe oreted false bottom at the level of saidblowout-pipe; of a suspended retort open at top and bottom andterminating at its lower end slightly above the false bottom and formedof laterally-expansible sections. 7. A-digester comprising an outerupright cylindrical shell, aninner-sectionel retort, adjusting-screwsextending through the sides of the outer shell and connecting with the20 screws extending throughthe sides of the 2 5 outer shell andconnecting with the sections of the retort and turnbuckles adjustablyconnecting the tops of the section of the re tort to the outer shell.

FE RDINAND D. MCMILLAN Witnesses:

F. M. Mrnns, W. W. CLARKE.

